Spiced Christmas Puffs
These light, flaky puffs are a wonderful addition to a cookie exchange party. Both variations highlight the aromatic spices of the season. With no cutting or frosting required, they’re an easy alternative to cutouts.
Ingredients: Cupcakes
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ cup milk
- 1 Tb. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 Tb. orange zest
- ¼ tsp. ground cloves
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
Variations:
Replace orange zest and ground cloves with the following spice combination:
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp. ground cloves
- ½ tsp. ground nutmeg
Preparation:
- Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light in texture, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and mix until incorporated.
- Combine the milk and vanilla extract in a liquid measuring cup. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add half of the liquid ingredients and half of the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture and stir to combine. Add the remaining liquid ingredients, dry ingredients, orange zest and cloves (or four-spice combination, if you’re using the variation), and mix until uniformly combined, about 1-2 minutes. Form the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Roll the dough into walnut-sized balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet ½ inch apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
- Place the powdered sugar in a wide, shallow bowl. As soon as the cookies are cool enough to handle (but still hot), roll them in the powdered sugar and place them on a cooling rack. Once the cookies have cooled completely, transfer the remaining powdered sugar to a sieve and gently dust the Christmas puffs with it.